Redressing the gender balanceRedressing the gender balance

Dr. Mark BradshawSenior Lecturer

Department of Fashion & TextilesDe Montfort University

Leicester, England

IntroductionIntroduction• Setting the scene

– Industry– Education

• 3 strategies for working with schools

• Project INTX

• Conclusions

Doom and GloomDoom and Gloom• Textiles has a bad press in the UK

– Public perception is poor– Factory closures– Low paid, unskilled employment

• Fashion has a good press– Glamorous image– Plenty of exciting jobs– Designers become famous

Setting the scene

This was then ….This was then ….• 15 years ago ….

– Thriving industry– Many students– Predominantly male– Many BSc Textiles courses nationally, easy to attract

students– Leicester Polytechnic had an international reputation

Setting the scene

… … and this is nowand this is now• Mass manufacturing nearly gone

– Niche manufacturing strong, technical textiles and corporate clothing (BA, MOD etc) are buoyant

• Many students– Most study BA Fashion or Design– Nearly all female

• Nationally– More than 90 BA Fashion courses, few BSc Textiles– The UK textile and clothing industry (including retail) still

demands technically competent graduates

Setting the scene

Strategy 1. Going OutStrategy 1. Going Out• Goal – increase application numbers by educating

the prospective applicants

• Go to colleges and schools

• Total success– Everywhere we went, we recruited students– “No one ever told us textiles was like this!”– Time consuming and expensive– Would need repeating yearly

Strategies

Strategy 2. Coming InStrategy 2. Coming In• Educate the educators• FREE COURSE FOR TEXTILE TEACHERS• Industrial Design & Practice

– Intensive 1 day course– Very practical– Supported by lectures

• Runaway success• Ran it 3 times the first session and 4 times a year

since

Strategies

Industrial Design & PracticeIndustrial Design & Practice• The Textile Industry

– the globalisation, international sourcing, product development.

• Textile Design & Production– fabric specifications and manufacture, CAD/CAM,

modern fabrics (Gore-Tex, etc).

• Finishing and coloration

• Garment Design & Manufacture– specifications, construction techniques, PDM, quality and

QA, product lifecycle, performance evaluation.

Strategies

Educate the educatorsEducate the educators• Seen our application numbers rise dramatically

– This was our goal and will remain so– Our priorities have changed along the way

• Understand the National Curriculum for Textiles– Very interesting, technical, industrial, exciting, new

technologies – a course you would want to study!!– Most teachers have little or no industrial background, or

access to suitable materials– Textiles in schools is art based/interiors/the cat walk

Strategies

Strategy 3. SupportStrategy 3. Support• Build working relationships

• Develop our portfolio of courses– CAD/CAM– Smart Materials

• Taster days for GCSE/A level students– Testing – snagging, strength, elasticity, burning– Coloration – multifibre strips, metamerism– CAD/CAM

Strategies

Strategy 3. SupportStrategy 3. Support• Support them in the classroom situation

– Developing classroom resources – project students– Making materials available online

Strategies

Project INTX (Project INTX (ININto to TTeeXXtiles)tiles)• Traditionally, not many boys at school study textiles

• “Textiles is GAY”

• Project INTX aims to dispel the myth that textiles is just pink dresses and cushions

• Aimed at Year`8 boys before they choose GCSE subjects

• It is not difficult to turn boys on to Textiles!

Project INTX

Project INTX (Project INTX (ININto to TTeeXXtiles)tiles)• 3 day event

• Boys presented with a lively textile industry

• Challenges their perception of what textiles are

• Boys invent millionaire-making textile product

• Present idea to the group

• Whole event is aimed at the “WOW” factor

Project INTX

Day 1Day 1• Day 1

– Presentation techniques– Visit local skateboard park and have skateboard

demonstration from a local team– Lecture on textiles in Formula 1 racing from BAR chief

designer– Practical experiment comparing strength of traditional

textile materials with Kevlar using an Instron– Lecture on Textile Futurology from scientist at Unilever– Brainstorming event – killer product that will make them a

millionaire

Project INTX

Day 2Day 2• Day 2

– Visit to Military Clothing base– Lecture from serving soldiers on different types of military

clothing, flak jackets, etc– Tour of military clothing testing facilities– Talk on ballistic impact and bullet proof jackets

Project INTX

Day 3Day 3• Day 3

– Talk from MD of skateboarding footwear company– Prepare presentation– Student presentations and awards

Project INTX

OutcomesOutcomes• Outcomes

– Local school has seen interest in textiles from boys soar– In a cohort of 60, number of boys has risen from 5 to 19.– From the universities perspective, it is a longer term

investment

Project INTX

RationaleRationale• Reasons why boys don’t study textiles

– Stereotype images – “textiles is gay”– Peer pressure – their mates are taking Resistant

Materials– Parental influence – low paid, female oriented career– On open days, parental influence is different!

Project INTX

Widening ParticipationWidening Participation• Government wants 50% of young people to go

through Higher Education• Supporting this with WP money• We have used WP money to fund much of our

outreach work

Project INTX

ConclusionsConclusions• The UK textile industry needs technically competent

graduates• We have developed a range of support mechanisms

for school textile teachers• We have seen our student application numbers rise

as a result• Project INTX has shown that boys want to study

textiles, they just don’t realise it yet!

Conclusions